Thoughts on software, how to make it better, cheaper, more humane though grammar, etc.

Total Sync

How well choreographed is Apple's "digital hub"?

In trying to get "first" to an online flight check-in, I was carefully watching the clock on my MacBook desktop as it approached 6:55 exactly. Meanwhile, I sent a text message or two on my iPhone. I noticed the iPhone's handsome time display was synched to the same minute.

Really wanting to hit "send" at the very top of the minute, I watched the red second hands of my many time-zoned Dashboard widgets. As that second hand—which is so finely animated as to include a small vibration following each movement—passed the top of the clock, the iPhone snapped to ":55."

I'm not sure what the benefit is, but the precision is remarkable. Now for comparison, note that the bedside alarm clock was (likely intentionally) nine minutes fast. Presumably the iPhone synchs the clock when it docks with my Mac, but it had suffered two time-zone changes since. Talk about one finishing another's sentence.